Syracuse, N.Y. — After two games away from home, the time has come for Syracuse to return to the Carrier Dome. The Orange takes on Wagner this weekend in what should be the first win of the Scott Shafer era.

Syracuse certainly has its bumps and bruises after an 0-2 start: an ongoing quarterback battle, a defense that was torched by Northwestern and a running game that has struggled to get rolling.

But as colleague Nate Mink wrote Thursday, this game against Wagner is a chance to iron out the kinks and right the ship. A strong performance Saturday builds confidence for the game against Tulane, which is the final tuneup for the showdown with Clemson.

These next two weeks are largely important.

So with that we open up the mailbag and see what Syracuse fans are wondering about. Every Friday we'll answer your questions about anything and everything related to Syracuse football.

To submit a question, email Michael Cohen at mcohen@syracuse.com or Nate Mink at nmink@syracuse.com. You can also reach them on Twitter: @Michael_Cohen13 and @MinkNate.

We also encourage writing an actual letter. But don't forget the new address for our building: 220 S. Warren St., Syracuse, N.Y. 13202.

Any word on Mitch Kimble? The few things we've heard have been very positive. I wonder if Allen never came if it would be between Hunt and Kimble for playing time.

There has been no mention of Kimble since training camp, though Shafer did say back in preseason camp he was so pleased with Kimble and fellow freshman Austin Wilson that he believes the team could win games with either one under center.

It's clear that the quarterback competition is between Drew Allen and Terrel Hunt at this point, but Kimble has a great chance of pushing Hunt for playing time next year. Will he see the field? I don't know. But the coaches love his skill set, and he is definitely a dual-threat player that enjoys tucking and running as much as throwing the ball down the field.

He could be fun to watch in the future.

Too many batted balls at the line for a 6'5" QB. Do you think this is a quick fix or is (Allen's) delivery just to flawed and we should move on to Hunt?

— Otto

Always fun to get a question from the Syracuse mascot himself.

Quarterbacks coach Tim Lester was asked about this very problem during Tuesday's interview session. He said that Northwestern is a team that does a tremendous job of knocking down passes, and he told his quarterbacks that during the week.

Lester said quarterbacks never look at the defensive line during a course of a game because they have so many other things to worry about. The tipped passes have nothing to do with Allen's height or his delivery, according to Lester.

"You throw in lanes," Lester said. "You're rarely throwing directly over people, though sometimes you have to. It's timing; it's about when the ball comes out. It's not something I worry about that much."

Do you think both QBs will each play a half on Saturday?

— @mcatcuse via Twitter

How the split between Drew Allen and Terrel Hunt will work is the most popular topic of conversation this week and deservedly so.

During his final press conference before kickoff on Saturday, Shafer said Thursday morning that Allen will start and Hunt will get "in the mix early." As for an exact point during the game where Hunt will take over, Shafer said after the first couple series.

Could be two, could be three. But it will definitely be the beginning portion of the game.

That means it won't be Allen in the first half and Hunt in the second, but I do think the reps will be split fairly evenly. If I had to guess, I would say both quarterbacks end up playing about the same amount of snaps by the time the game ends.

That way the coaching staff has an even playing field to evaluate next week when preparing for Tulane. An equal share of reps for each player.